I 112th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 712 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 15, 2011 Mr. Capuano (for himself, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Cohen, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Moore, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Norton, Ms. Richardson, Mr. Sablan, Mr. Shuler, and Mr. Costello) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To require air carriers to refund passenger baggage fees if such baggage is lost, delayed, or damaged, and require air carriers and ticket agents to include the actual cost of checked baggage when quoting an airfare.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Baggage Fee Fairness Act of 2011.

2.

Baggage fee refunds

Not later than 30 days after arrival of a passenger flight in which a piece of baggage is lost, delayed, or damaged, the air carrier for such flight shall refund to a passenger any baggage fee collected. For purposes of this section, the term delayed means baggage that is not on the conveyor belt or held by the air carrier for retrieval by the passenger one hour after arrival of the flight at such passenger’s final destination.

3.

Notification requirements regarding the sale of airline tickets

Section 41712 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (d)

Notice of fees

It shall be an unfair or deceptive practice under subsection (a) for an air carrier, foreign air carrier, or ticket agent to sell a ticket for air transportation, including sale on the Internet or over the phone, to fail, before the sale of the ticket, to ask a potential ticket purchaser if such purchaser has one or more pieces of baggage to check and to inform the potential purchaser of the cost of checking each piece of baggage. In the case of a sale of such a ticket on the Internet, the seller may provide an opportunity for a purchaser to indicate the number of bags when selecting other flight and airport information. .